Poems
— My family settles beside the fire, our shadows dancing behind us. Bare trees sway and shiver; the fire leans from side to side. Scattering sparks that look like restless stars,...
— a letter to my 爸爸(baba)i’m in my own little cornerof San Francisco as pineapple mint tonicbubbles against my tongue. more mint than pineapple and it’s got that greentaste (like a...
— A diary reopened, rewritten, for that reason, A page I could not flip from, a chapter from that page. The soft folds of paper were damp, and smudged was the...
— I told myself I’d left it all behind, My cup of life filled up with laughter, lace, But I, far from cured, and far from refined. I swore no hand...
— Not even willing to recall yesterday, every mind strains to remember a bland moment, when forced to cope with times now stuck, the morrow would not let it slip away,...
— Your laugh echoes With it comes pain Pain that wades through my mind Past the words to block it My skin tingles A reminder of the days of ago Of...
— There once was a vase with a flower, rosy and plump, like peaches, sweet and soft, slim like a sprout of elegant green, with a graceful figure. She lived in...
— I had no official business near the couch, which is why my head was held high, like an austere national security inspector. I was not a busybody. I bowed to...
— Awaiting the rush means I must marinate in restlessness. I’m reminded that once a consciousness slides, it receives a static shock from the Playground Gods in order to bring it...
— She sat as they stood, waiting. The seated passengers in her row stood and drifted to rows behind to make space.The driver’s hand twitched and tensed.She sat.The driver inhaled sharply,grimly...
— Theoretically As we layin the sharp blades of wet grassYou told me thatTheoreticallyWe all turn to wallsWhen we don't know I'm not quite sureI understood. My focus might have drifted....
— A speaker flees with something precious that transforms from innocent to dangerous, until pursuers take it away, leaving emptiness.
— A quilt with intricate patterns of flowers and pine trees holds untold stories and unasked questions in its silent, soft interior.
— A speaker confronts someone who abandoned something precious, comparing the forsaken object to a wilting flower and a stray dog, questioning their conscience.
— A student's school bag becomes impossibly heavy with metaphorical weight until they decide their health matters more than attendance.
— A student's back-to-school list prioritizes soccer gear, cologne, and hair gel over school supplies, reluctantly adding pencils at the end.
— Autumn comes alive through sensory comparisons — rainbows after rain, warm pumpkin seeds, leaves showering down, and sun playing hide-and-seek with clouds.
— A child observes another child eating ice cream alone while she laughs with friends at school, reflecting on their shared humanity despite different circumstances.
— A poem captures the immersive act of writing as ink consumes the page, until external sounds and the command to 'Look up' break the spell.
— A speaker stands alone in a thunderstorm, experiencing its fury through all senses, until sudden silence brings no relief from inner turmoil.